Dry Clean Plus, on Bargate, Newark, victim of burglary again, with Nottinghamshire Police investigating
A business owner’s positive outlook on life has taken a hit after two break-ins at his premises — but he is determined to keep his head up.
Antony Pollard’s business Dry Clean Plus has found itself victim to intruders again, who have ransacked the shop on Bargate, Newark, and made off with items from within — including his son’s prized coin collection.
The latest incident, which Nottinghamshire Police has confirmed it is investigating, occurred between 3pm on Saturday, December 28, and 8.25am on Monday, December 30.
It saw the back door of the premises prised open with a crowbar, CCTV cables cut, and the till system damaged. A charity box, other cash — including Antony’s son’s coin collection — and some luxury coats which were being cleaned were taken.
The previous break-in took place overnight on November 20 to 21, when intruders damaged the front door to enter the premises where two credit cards from a lock box, cash from the till, and charity donations were taken.
Antony said: “It’s all been a bit of a nightmare, we’ve had to up the security, we can’t have any charity boxes on the counter.
“Apart from putting a metal box around the shop I’m not sure there’s anything else we can do.
“It’s really sad — we’d just got the charity money back and I don’t know if they’d seen that, or if it is a revenge thing, I’m not sure. I had the tin back out on the counter which is probably a bit of mistake looking back, but I didn’t think it would happen again. I have faith in humanity.”
The ‘most heart-breaking’ part of the second break-in, Antony explained, was the theft of his son Oliver’s coin collection, which includes £2 coins of a variety of special designs.
These were not only being saved as a hobby, but also to be used as an investment in a car deposit or similar when Oliver turned 18.
However, his faith in humanity has once again come good, with some customers and members of the public offering duplicates of special coins they own and sending well wishes.
Antony added: “It’s got me down, seeing Ollie upset about his coins. But I keep a positive outlook — 2025 can’t get worse, it can only get better.”
Nottinghamshire Police has asked that anyone with footage of the incident, or who has any information, to share it by calling 101, quoting incident 96 of December 30, 2024.
